Jane Street Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 17,193 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.12% of Merit Medical Systems worth $7,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,053,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $262,445,000 after buying an additional 10,512 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1.7% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,289,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,236,000 after acquiring an additional 38,780 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,559,000 after acquiring an additional 15,098 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $155,879,000 after purchasing an additional 649,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 727,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 54,122 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $102.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.19. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.31 and a 12-month high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.